Jeneatte Walls Talks About The Glass Castle-

Although I had already started my memoir before a friend told me about The Glass Castle, it quickly became one of my biggest inspirations. (I had told my friend what my memoir was about, and she quickly said, “Oh my god!  You must read The Glass Castle.”) Jeanette Walls had a remarkable life, and one of the reasons I think I related so much to her story was that she and I both had a nomadic childhood. I strongly recommend The Glass Castle to anyone working on a coming-of-age memoir.

Since I work in ecommerce, I read Mashable every day. I came across an article about publisher Simon and Schuster and the incredible internet marketing efforts going on, including a YouTube video channel with professional produced author videos.  From there, I saw the link to Jeantte Wallks speaking about the Glass Castle and had to watch. It was awesome to see her “in person” after reading a book as intimate as her story and feeling so close the material.  As a bonus, we meet her mother in the video.  Here it is.

Surprise in the Mail: Video from 1988- Pocono Mountain Jamboree and Tom Chapin Benefit

(Embedded video coming- need to get in proper format to work with WordPress.  For now, please go here.)

Wow. Tony T. – the father (one of my two) I was reunited with a few weeks ago- just mailed me a treasure- a care package with some goodies, so old photos and best off all, a DVD filled with musical memories from my Pocono childhood! He had Berks Community Television put together some archived footage of two musical events– one was of the 5th or 6th annual Pocono Mountain Jamboree (I will find out for sure) and the second, a benefit concert he put together in 1988 for Jillian Miller (a young girl who needed a bone marrow transplant), which starred folk/children’s artist, Tom Chapin (Harry Chapin’s brother).

The video below, which I had to upload to Facebook and not You Tube due to length, is a montage that goes back and forth between the two events. I am still trying to figure out how to edit this down, but at the very end, my cousins, some friends and my aunt are all on stage singing along to two of Tony Talarico’s original songs, “High on the Lehigh” and “Pictures on the Wall.” I cannot believe how small we are, and I cannot believe I am getting to see this again! Incredible.

Of course, the shorts the guys were wearing at the Jamboree are worth a view of the video in itself. Enjoy!

MFA Thesis Paper Done. Now, a Scavenger Hunt.

Ah.  Relief.  I presented my MFA thesis paper this morning– Survival in Childhood Memoir: Propelling Story by Building Character.  It was a chore to cut down a 20 page paper to a fluid 15-minute presentation, but I think it turned out well.  Of course I am always my own worst critic, but aren’t we all.  I was uber-impressed by my cohorts as well.  Mixed in with our MFA paper presentations were students in the class behind us (where I was in January), who presented readings from their MA thesis drafts.  Heard some great stuff!!  The readings finish up tomorrow, with another chock-full day.  Can’t wait to hear more.

Then, Monday, the class work begins.  For the MFA at Wilkes, the first and only residency is mornings dedicated to publishing and the business of writing- then a craft class shared by both MA and MFA students- then the afternoon class on the arts-in-education track.  Ultimately after this residency, we in MFA go on to teaching or publishing internships.  At first I was leaning toward teaching, but I feel like with my promotion, sales and marketing background, I am now considering a publishing internship.  We’ll see.  That’s what this week is about.

But all in all, today was about seeing all the friendly faces, most of which I haven’t seen since January.  I am so excited for this week to roll out!!

SCAVENGER HUNT

So, I sit at my iMac writing this blog, but I should really be tending to the torn-off spiral notebook page with random contents.  It’s as if I was sent on a scavenger hunt in my own apartment:  can opener.  hair dryer.  wash cloth.  clothes in dryer.  cough syrup. These are some of the things I forgot in my hasted to unpack a suitcase from a five-day stay at a hotel in Boston to re-pack for a seven-night stay in a dorm at Wilkes.  I live three miles from campus, but I choose to live on campus because it’s just the thing to do– to be near everyone, to bond, to have fun and to be close to both classrooms and barrooms.  : )

I will try to blog more from the residency, but they say the MFA residency is intense once Monday starts.  And WI-FI in the dorm is sketchy.

P.S.  I am actually leading a craft class on Monday on “Social Media for the Anti-Social Writer” where the main focus will be Twitter, but bascially, I will get to use my everyday job to tie it into my passion of creative writing.  So excited about that!

Talking to Strangers is Fun

My parents were never the kind of people to buy into the “Don’t talk to strangers” philosophy.  After all, while they were on stage performing, I took off around the venue talking to whoever I could.  Then, as a teenager, I spent years selling newspaper subscriptions door-to-door, which led me talk to thousands of strangers.  And to this day, I try to make small talk with everyone I meet.  I do it because people are interesting.  You just never know what story you’ll hear, or what will inspire you from a simple chance meeting. I was just leaving a comment on The Klever Kris blog and was saying something like this to him, so figured it’d make a good post in itself, me talking about how I talk to strangers.

On Memorial Day in Boston I started talking to some guys sitting next to me at a bar.  Now, almost a month later, I still am in touch with one about random stuff.  I have a friend Laura who met a guy about 10 years ago in an elevator at a hotel.  She’s like me; she’ll talk to anyone.  To this day, they are still wonderful friends.  It’s just cool to get outside your circle and see who else is out there, even if it’s a one time exchange, or something that buds into a friendship, a business connection, etc.  I like learning about other people, what makes them tick, what they do, and of course, I love to hear any funny anecdotes they may have.  I’ve just always been curious in nature and that’s perhaps why getting into journalism always appealed to me– I like asking questions and learning and researching.  What?  There’s like 7 billion people in the world?  I’d like to get to know as many as I can.

Quote that really says a lot about nature vs. nurture, etc.

I found this quote last year from a sociologist and I included it in my first draft of the memoir, which is bound as my MA thesis.  Thought I would share it here:

The route through childhood is shaped by many forces, and it differs for each of us. Our biological inheritance, the temperament with which we are born, the care we receive, our family relationships, the place where we grow up, the schools we attend, the culture in which we participate, and the historical period in which we live—all these affect the paths we take through childhood and condition the remainder of our lives.

–Robert H. Wozniak